James Otis

The Revolution by Last Best Hope of EarthOctober 21, 2021October 22, 2021

The Revolution: James Otis’ The Rights of the British Colonies Asserted and Proved

Boston, 1764 The origin of government are more than complicated. It is a subject that “has in all ages no less perplexed the heads of lawyers and politicians, than the origin of evil has embarrassed divines and philosophers.” Regardless of one’s perspective on origin and its mysteries, part of the foundation of every government is […]

The Revolution by Last Best Hope of EarthFebruary 15, 2016February 9, 2016

The Scum Will Rise

The social structure of America was being turned upside down during the Revolution. As James Otis warned in 1776: “When the pot boils, the scum will rise.” John Eliot to Jeremy Belknap, Jan. 12, 1777, Belknap Papers, 104.

Early Republic by Last Best Hope of EarthNovember 4, 2015

The Justifications for Slavery

Early Americans, both pro-slavery and anti-slavery, explored the potential justifications for slavery in the United States. In 1764, James Otis of Massachusetts asked “Can any logical inference in favor of slavery be drawn from a flat nose, a long or short face?” after pondering why only blacks had been enslaved. James Otis, The Rights of the […]